New Delhi [India], August 8 (ANI): The Union Education Ministry discussed the next course of action and key areas, reaffirming its commitment to strengthening India's education ecosystem after the13th BRICS Education Ministers' Meeting, Union Education Minister Pralhad Joshi said.

Pralhad Joshi chaired the 13th BRICS Education Ministers' Meeting in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, with the adoption of the 13th BRICS Education Ministers' Declaration on Friday.

Pralhad Joshi recently took the responsibility of the Education Ministry after Dharmendra Pradhan resigned as Education Minister following protests by students over the NEET-UG paper leak.

In an X post, Joshi wrote, 'Back in New Delhi after the 13th BRICS Education Ministers' Meeting, held detailed discussions with senior officials of the @EduMinOFIndia last night, on the next course of action and key areas requiring focused attention. We reviewed the Ministry's ongoing initiatives, discussed implementation priorities and reaffirmed our commitment to ensuring timely and effective execution of programmes aimed at strengthening India's education ecosystem.'

'The meeting also provided an opportunity to align our efforts with the vision of building an inclusive, future-ready and globally competitive education system,' he added.

At the BRICS meeting, the Union Minister reiterated India's commitment to working closely with all the BRICS partners and expressed confidence that the momentum generated during the meeting would translate into meaningful action.

Referring to India's BRICS Chairship 2026 theme, 'Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability,' the minister said that education systems must prepare young people for emerging opportunities while remaining firmly rooted in human values. He added that learners, teachers, researchers and young people should remain at the centre of policymaking and international cooperation.

Outcomes of the 13th BRICS Education Ministers' Declaration were strengthening Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) and Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN), strengthening cooperation in skill development and TVET, enhancing research, innovation and start-up ecosystems, advancing Mutual Recognition of Qualifications (MRQ) and strengthening capacity building for academic leadership and institutional development.

According to the Education Ministry, the meeting also welcomed India's initiative on the BRICS Guiding Principles on Strengthening Academic Collaboration on Traditional and Indigenous Knowledge Systems and suggested that the BRICS Network University may consider the inclusion of traditional and indigenous knowledge systems as an additional International Thematic Group. (ANI)